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GOATWHORE, SKELETONWITCH AND MORTALS

Sound Control, Manchester, England
11th April 2015

Review by Toria Morgan. Photography by Jas Stephenson.

It was an overcast and windy Saturday (for a change) in Manchester city centre and in good old English fashion, a lengthy queue formed outside Sound Control that stretched down the street a fair way. People clad in Goatwhore, Skeletonwitch and Mortals merchandise waited to be let in to the ‘Hell Has Arrived Over Europe Tour 2015.’ I overheard people had come from as far as Liverpool and St. Annes to see this gig. This alone should have given me an idea of what to expect once I got inside, seemingly it was quite a big deal.

Amon Amarth

Deceiver of the Gods North American Tour 2014

October 4, 2014

The Deceiver of Gods tour had finally made its way to Canada and on October 4, 2014 Amon Amarth stormed Flames Central in Calgary Alta., along with fellow Swedes Sabaton and Skeletonwitch from the U.S. The show was sold out and fans had lined up early before doors opened and the lineup, consisting of some peopled clad in Viking costumes, spanned a few blocks. Amon Amarth has played Calgary many times but it was their first time in the local hockey team’s themed venue. Calgary Flames symbols and paraphernalia decorate the venue. The room itself is decent for getting a view of the stage even if the venue is packed as it is multilevel. Merch tables were tucked away from the floor and had a constant line up of people buying some new items. The varying styles of bands worked well for this bill as each has developed quite a large following in Calgary.

Ohio’s Skeletonwitch were up first and the floor was already packed. The five pieces from Ohio launched right into a high energy and aggressive set. “More Cruel Than Weak” off their last release, Serpents Unleashed [Prosthetic Records, 2013], was the first song in the set and got the crowd moving right away. Vocalist Chance Garnette was stalking the stage menacingly and with the stage lights set up so high above the band, his eyes appeared to be ominous black pits. Guitarists Nate Garnette and Scott Hedrick delivered a skillful double les Paul attack. Skeletonwitch closed the set with “Within My Blood” and the audience was left thoroughly thrashed and ready for the next bands.

Smoke crept across the stage and the audience immediately began chanting “Sabaton!”. The band took the stage with big smiles and vocalist Joakim Brodén was bounding around the stage and lunging down to the audience’s level to make eye contact and throw some horns. The band was ready to entertain and the crowd was ready to party. Sabaton had made a great impression on Calgary in April 2014 and fans were singing along and jumping around with the band. When Brodén tried to get the audience to join in a rendition of YMCA there was little enthusiasm for it, so the band delivered a few more songs. Then Brodén brought out a guitar to have a riff/solo challenge with guitarist Chris Rörland and Thobbe Englund. Brodén was of course good naturedly showed up. He then pulled out a few bars of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” and afterwards tentatively started singing “YMCA” and the crowd actually joined in fairly boisterously. Calgary had another fun night enjoying Sabaton’s music and stage antics.

By this time in the evening a large portion of attendees were inebriated and everyone was eagerly awaiting the Viking metallers to take the stage. There was already so much energy that when “Run to the Hills” played over the speakers during set change, everyone in the venue was singing along and some people even started crowd surfing. Amon Amarth opened with “Deceiver of the Gods” and hair started flying. Fans were singing along to choruses, headbanging, and the pit was kept consistently chaotic throughout the ninety minute set. After the second song “Runes Carved to My Memory”, frontman Johan Hegg customarily addressed the crowd under a single spotlight before thundering into “Death in Fire”. Other crowd favorites were “The Last Stand of Frej”, “Guardians of Asgaard”, and “Cry of the Blackbirds”. The set was powerful and captivating this night. Non-stop crowd surfers had security working hard and diligently in the very small space allotted between the stage and barrier. Amon Amarth finished with “Twilight of the Thunder God” and “The Pursuit of Vikings” that had everyone roaring lyrics back to Hegg.

Overall it was a successful night for all the bands. Starting with the straight up intense brutality of Skeletonwtich, to Sabaton’s jovial set and Amon Amarth’s crushing ferocity, fans were left battered.

Midwestern metal quintet, SKELETONWITCH, have released a second behind-the-scenes video documenting the recording of their highly anticipated new album, Serpents Unleashed, due to drop this October. Check it out at Invisible Oranges, HERE.

Serpents Unleashed — which ties a bow around the band’s rambunctious first decade of blackened metal — will be released in North America on October 29th, in Australia, Germany, Austria and Switzerland on October 25th and on October 28th in the UK and the rest of Europe. The album, which was recorded at GodCity Studio earlier this year with Kurt Ballou (Converge, Trap Them, High on Fire), has been hailed by Decibel as SKELETONWITCH‘s “best effort to date.” Agrees Metalholic in 9.5/10 rating: “Every song, every melody, every note just screams metal.” View a sneak peak of the band tracking “Burned From Bone” at THIS LOCATION.

Serpents Unleashed is now available for preorder on CD, audio cassette, three different 180-gram LP variants (black, clear or red) and a limited-edition seen-inch collector’s box via http://www.skeletonwitch.com.

Skeletonwitch

@ La Respuesta, Santurce Puerto Rico

Review and videography by Dennis Rivera

So finally the wait it’s over! Skeletonwitch is finally playing for their fans in Puerto Rico.
The Fans didn’t hesitate to be early in the venue to see Skeletonwitch share the stage with the local bands HUSH, Argyle and Abismo Nuclear.

Tuska Open Air 2012

Suvilahti, Helsinki, Finland

June 27-29, 2012

The Tuska Open Air Festival is definitely a real metal festival institution amongst all other metal festivals in Europe. This current area, Sivulahti, almost located in the heart of Helsinki, only a few kilometers away from the downtown, is a new home for Tuska for the second time. Suvilahti is more like an industrial environment with the burning and hot asphalt underfoot. When raining, at least the area won’t turn to one hell of a big mud fest.

Another thing forcing Tuska to make a change was the date. Originally the festival was supposed to be at the beginning of July, but another big more international based festival took over the date and Tuska was postponed until three weeks later. Well at least some people got pissed off at the changed date. Obviously a few band negotiations needed to start all over. Hopefully Tuska will return back to the original date.

The line-up looked once again – amazing. Megadeth and Ministry and of course the Swedish war trad metallers were headliners, but Lamb Of God had to pull out of Tuska because of the arrest of the frontman in Republic Czechia and was replaced by Finntroll and Animals As Leaders had to cancel as the band managed to miss the flight. Of course a few cult metal bands like Saint Vitus, A.R.G. could be witnessed. The festival was an utter success although the event wasn’t sold out. All in all 26,000 people visited Tuska during three days.

Metal-Rules.com was present to check out a lot of bands and enjoy the sun and rain.

Ohio metal heathens SKELETONWITCH have announced plans to demolish North America this summer on a headlining tour, which will also feature classic rockers Barnburner (Metal Blade Records). The tour, which includes two weeks’ worth of dates in Canada, will commence July 17 in York, Pennsylvania soon after the band return from a European tour during which they will play festivals alongside the likes of Slayer, Megadeth, and Behemoth. Complete dates are listed below.

SKELETONWITCH, who recently toured North America alongside The Black Dahlia Murder, will be out in support of their latest album Forever Abomination, as well as the recent vinyl reissues of their popular releases Breathing The Fire and Beyond The Permafrost. Each LP is available in three different options – splatter, half-and-half and 180-gram black wax — and features gatefold Stoughton “tip-on” record jackets.

Like Satan himself set loose in the hallowed halls of heavy metal, SKELETONWITCH careen wildly through the music’s history, gleefully destroying and setting flame to every genre along the way, only stopping at the forefront of today’s metal scene to look back and watch that fucker burn — and then piss on the flames. No other band has tapped into the fire, fury, and frost of all things metal. Worship the ‘WITCH!

Ohio metal heathens SKELETONWITCH have announced plans to demolish North America this summer on a headlining tour, which will also feature classic rockers BARN BURNER (Metal Blade Records). The tour, which includes two weeks’ worth of dates in Canada, commences July 17 in York, Pa., soon after the band returns from a European tour during which they will play festivals alongside the likes of Slayer, Megadeth, and Behemoth. Complete dates are listed below.

Today Ohio metal goliaths SKELETONWITCH are streaming “new” track,“Tragedy of Days” at Prosthetic Records’ official bandcamp page. Never formally released on record in the States, the tune was recorded during the Forever Abomination sessions with producer Matt Hyde and appeared on the Decibel Magazine Flexi-Disc series (Oct. 2011 issue) as well as the Japanese edition of Forever Abomination.

Comments guitarist Scott Hedrick of the track: “’Tragedy of Days’ was an epic instrumental by [guitarist] Nate [Garnette]’s former band Serkesoron. They disbanded after the untimely passing of Serkesoron’s frontman, Thom Wright. Shortly after the band called it quits, SKELETONWITCH was born. We re-recorded the track and Chance [Garnette] addedvocals as a tribute to Thom, immortalizing him in song.”

In related news, the new vinyl reissues of the SKELETONWITCH‘s breakthrough releases Breathing The Fire and Beyond The Permafrost are now shipping from the Prosthetic Store. Both are available in three variants — splatter, half-and-half and 180-gram black wax — and feature gatefold Stoughton “tip-on” record jackets. Pictures of the limited-edition colored LPs can be seen HERE. The black vinyl versions of both albums will be available in select retail stores on April 10.

Additionally, the band recentlyunveiled a new video for the song “The Infernal Resurrection,” which comes off their The studio offering, Forever Abomination. To view the clip, which documents the band in live pillage mode in Europe, head over to Metal Injection.

SKELETONWITCH are currently setting stage ablaze on tour alongside The Black Dahlia Murder, Nile and labelmates Hour Of Penance. This marks the group’s first North American tour action of 2012 in support of latest full-length, Forever Abomination. The band will take a brief break before heading overseas for a stretch of Euro dates. Confirmed dates thus far include:

Like Satan himself set loose in the hallowed halls of heavy metal, SKELETONWITCH careen wildly through the music’s history, gleefully destroying and setting flame to every genre along the way, only stopping at the forefront of today’s metal scene to look back and watch that fucker burn — and then piss on the flames. No other band has tapped into the fire, fury, and frost of all things metal. Worship the ‘WITCH!

Ohio headbangers SKELETONWITCH — whose latest album, Forever Abomination, cracked the Billboard Top 200, as well as Decibel’s Top 40 of 2011 — will return to the road this week. After a warm-up show in Cleveland on Friday, the band will join forces with The Black Dahlia Murder, Nile and labelmates Hour Of Penance for a four-week tour that concludes at the New England Metal And Hardcore Festival. This marks the group’s first North American touring action of 2012.

In other SKELETONWITCH news, the final color variant of the forthcoming Breathing The Fire vinyl reissue — which, unlike the sold-out initial pressings of the album, comes in a gatefold Stoughton “tip-on” jacket — has arrived at Prosthetic’s warehouse. Check out a picture of the two-color, half-and-half LP, which is limited to 125 copies at THIS LOCATION.

180-gram black and standard-weight “fire splatter” wax are also available. The former will arrive in select retail stores on April 10; the latter and the half-and-half LP can both be pre-ordered at the PROSTHETIC STORE. LP reissues of the band’s 2007 breakthrough, Beyond The Permafrost — which will also be available in three color variants (“Permafrost splatter,” half-and-half and 180-gram black vinyl) — are still in production, but can also be pre-ordered now at the Prosthetic Store.

Over the last five years, SKELETONWITCH has toured alongside a who’s who of heavy metal, from icons like Danzig, Ozzy Osbourne and Rob Halford, to international titans Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy and Dimmu Borgir, to American powerhouses High On Fire, GWAR and Devildriver. Forever Abomination, the group’s third Prosthetic release, was produced by Matt Hyde (Slayer, Children of Bodom).

Metal maniacs SKELETONWITCH entered a Los Angeles studio today with producer Matt Hyde (Slayer, Machine Head, Kreator) to begin recording the follow up to 2009’s burner “Breathing The Fire.” The as-yet-untitled album, expected to be released this fall, features the track “The Infernal Resurrection,” the demo version of which appears as the B-side on the soon-to-be-released final 7-inch of a limited-edition vinyl trilogy. This will mark the first recording with their new drummer, former DEMIRICOUS skin-pounder Dustin Boltjes.

Axe-man Scott Hedrick commented: “Waiting fucking sucks! So, after months of writing, it’s great to finally be in the studio tracking the new album. It’s not rocket science…it’s epic, it’s brutal, it’s fucking Skeletonwitch! We can’t wait for everyone to hear it.

“We’d also like to officially welcome aboard our newest member Dustin Boltjes. He’s a great fucking dude and an animal behind the kit. We couldn’t have found a better fit. Welcome aboard, brother!”

After finishing tracking, the band will head to Europe for a run of dates which will include stops at several festivals. As reported yesterday on MetalSucks, the band will be participating in a fall North American tour along with CHTHONIC and two other bands, which will be announced on the site in the coming days.

SKELETONWITCH’s confirmed dates, as of now, are as follows:

8/4 Dortmund, NW, DE- FZW Freizeitzentrum West

8/6 Wacken, GER- Wacken Open Air

8/8 Toulouse, FR- La Dynamo

8/9 Montpellier, FR- The Secret Place

8/11 Jaromer, Czech Republic- Brutal Assault

8/12 Schlotheim, GER- Party San

8/13 Walton On Trent, UK- Canton Hall/Bloodstock

8/14 Nottingham, UK- Rock City

8/16 London, UK- Barfly

8/19 Dinkelsbühl, GER- Summer Breeze

8/20 Dinkelsbühl, GER- Summer Breeze

SKELETONWITCH recently completed a run with 3 Inches of Blood, which saw them appear once again at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festval in Worcester, Mass. The band spent the past year and a half supporting “Breathing the Fire,” which was recorded in Seattle with legendary producer Jack Endino (Nirvana, High On Fire, Soundgarden) and debuted at #151 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart and #2 on the magazine’s Heatseekers’ Chart. The band spent time on the road with Cannibal Corpse, 1349, Children of Bodom and The Black Dahlia Murder, among others, and appeared on 2010’s Ozzfest.

American metal demons, SKELETONWITCH, have announced the details of the third, and final, installment of their 7” trilogy. Part III will be on gray vinyl and will feature a recently re-recorded version of “Onward To Battle,” a track that originally appeared on the band’s self-released debut album, “At One With The Shadows.” The B-side, meanwhile, is a demo version of a new track, “The Infernal Resurrection,” which the group recently debuted on their tour with 3 Inches of Blood. This is the first official taste of SKELETONWITCH’s new album, which will be released this fall. As with Parts I and II, this 7″ — which again features artwork by the group’s former drummer, Derrick “Mullet Chad” Nau — is limited to 500 copies, and once they’re gone, they’re gone! Pre-order is available NOW and the wax will ship in June. Get your copy at the official Prosthetic Web Shop: http://store.prostheticrecords.com/index.php/sales-preorders/preorders/skeletonwitch-onward-infernal-7-grey-vinyl.html

As previously mentioned, SKELETONWITCH recently completed a run with 3 Inches of Blood, which occurred during a break from writing their upcoming album, which they will start recording next month. The band spent the past year and a half supporting“Breathing the Fire,” which was recorded in Seattle with legendary producer Jack Endino (Nirvana, High On Fire, Soundgarden) and debuted at #151 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart and #2 on the magazine’s Heatseekers’ Chart. The band spent time on the road with Cannibal Corpse, 1349, Children of Bodom, The Black Dahlia Murder, amongst others, and appeared on 2010’s Ozzfest.

Metal masters SKELETONWITCH have tapped drummer Tony Laureano for their upcoming spring dates and to play on their upcoming as-yet-untitled new album, due out this fall. Laureano, who’s played for acts such as 1349, Nile, Dimmu Borgir and more, will be replacing the recently departed, Derrick “Mullet Chad” Nau, who is returning to art school and further pursuing his art career.
Guitarist Scott Hedrick commented on the addition of Laureano and departure of Nau: “Our good friend Tony will be playing drums on our April tour, new album, and for the foreseeable future. We’re fucking stoked to have a drummer of his caliber and experience on board. He’s a beast behind the kit and a great fucking guy as well. You can’t ask for more than that!”

“After our last tour Derrick informed us that he is putting down the drum sticks and picking up the paint brush. He is returning to art school and does not wish to be a musician anymore. We would like to thank Derrick for his years of dedication to Skeletonwitch. Though we will miss him, there is no bad blood. We will always remain great friends and wish him the best with his new endeavor.”

You can check out some of Nau’s artwork here: www.apocalypsenau.com/www.apocalypsenau.com/>
As previously announced, SKELETONWITCH will be teaming up with 3 INCHES OF BLOOD in April for a run through the Midwest and East coast, which will include a stop at New England Metal and Hardcore Festival in Worcester, MA on April 16th. The band will be selling the last copies of the “Skullsplitter” 7 inch while supplies last. SKELTONWITCH has been off the road, writing their new album, the follow-up to 2009’s “Breathing the Fire,” since wrapping up dates with JOB FOR A COWBOY in December.
4/7 Covington, KY- Mad Hatter
4/8 Milwaukee, WI- The Annex
4/9 Chicago, IL- Empty Bottle
4/10 South Bend, IN- Elva’s Fiesta Club
4/11 Iowa City, IA- Blue Moose
4/12 Toledo, OH- Headliners
4/13 Pontiac, MI- Pike Room
4/14 Pittsburgh, PA- Smiling Moose
4/16 Worcester, MA- The Palladium, NE Metal and Hardcore Fest
4/17 NYC, NY- Grammercy
4/18 Baltimore, MD- Otto Bar
4/19 Raliegh, NC- Volume 11
4/21 St. Louis, MO- Fubar
4/22 Columbus, OH- Ravari Room
8/11 Jaromer, Czech Republic- Brutal Assault
8/12 Schlotheim, GER- Party San
8/20 Dinkelsbühl, GER- Summer Breeze
SKELETONWITCH spent the past year plus supporting “Breathing the Fire,” which was recorded in Seattle with legendary producer Jack Endino (Nirvana, High On Fire, Soundgarden) and debuted at #151 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart and #2 on the magazine’s Heatseekers’ Chart. The band spent time on the road with Cannibal Corpse, 1349, Children of Bodom, The Black Dahlia Murder, amongst others, and appeared on 2010’s Ozzfest.

3 INCHES OF BLOOD will team up with SKELETONWITCH next month for a two week run through the Midwest and East coast, which will include a stop at New England Metal and Hardcore Festival in Worcester, MA on April 16th. 3 INCHES OF BLOOD recently completed a North American tour supporting ELUVEITIE. SKELTONWITCH has been off the road writing their new album, the follow-up to 2009’s “Breathing the Fire,” since wrapping up dates with JOB FOR A COWBOY in December. More dates will be announced in the coming dates, the confirmed dates are, as follows:

Thu/Apr-07 Covington, KY Mad Hatter

Fri/Apr-08 Milwaukee, WI The Annex

Sat/Apr-09 Chicagoi, IL Empty Bottle

Sun/Apr-10 South Bend, IN Elva’s Fiesta Club

Mon/Apr-11 Iowa City, IA Blue Moose

Sat/Apr-16 Worcester, MA New England Metal Fest

Sun/Apr-17 NYC, NY Grammercy

Mon/Apr-18 Baltimore, MD Otto Bar

Tue/Apr-19 Raliegh, NC Volume 11

Thu/Apr-21 St. Louis, MO Fubar

Fri/Apr-22 Columbus, OH Ravari Room

3 INCHES OF BLOOD are also excited to announce that they have been nominated for an Indie Award. Canda’s version of the Grammys for Indie artists is in it’s 11th year and has become one of the most important awards in Canada. Head over to their official website to cast your vote for 3 INCHES OF BLOOD for ‘Metal Artist of the Year’.

Blackened thrash tyrants, SKELETONWITCH, have premiered the video for the track, “Submit To The Suffering,” exclusively as MetalSucks.net Check it out NOW! http://www.metalsucks.net/2010/08/26/exclusive-video-premiere-skeletonwitchs-submit-to-the-suffering/ The video was shot by director Don Tyler (Mastodon, Ringworm) before the band hit the road for the summer, which included a Canadian tour supporting HIGH ON FIRE, a stop at Heavy MTL Festival in Montreal, QC, Ozzfest and off dates with the likes of DEVILDRIVER, KINGDOM OF SORROW and more.

Guitarist Nate Garnette provided some insight into the new video: “”We filmed out in the woods at Mullet Chad’s house….15 friends +15 30-packs of beer= new Skeletonwitch video!”

Guitarist Scott Hedrick commented on the conclusion of Ozzfest: “Ozzfest was fucking killer! The protestors, the rain, your Grandma……no one could stop the metal! The only downside was that there were only 6 shows. We would’ve loved about 660 more! Thanks to everyone who came out and the entire Ozzfest crew for making that shit happen.”

SKELETONWITCHare supporting “Breathing the Fire” which was recorded in Seattle, WA with legendary producer, Jack Endino (Nirvana, High On Fire, Soundgarden). The album was released by PROSTHETIC RECORDS on October 13, 2009 and debuted at number 151 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart and number 2 on the magazine’s “Heatseekers’ Chart.” Get the album now from the Prosthetic Webstore for $8.99! (http://store.prostheticrecords.com/index.php/bands/skeletonwitch)

Band To Tour Canada with HIGH ON FIRE, Appear on OZZFEST & HEAVY MTL, and Return To Europe; Completes New Video.

Athens, Ohio’s blackened thrash warlords, SKELETONWITCH, who are no strangers to the road, have quite the action packed summer lined up. The band will start July by doing some of their own shows en route to Vancouver, BC, where they’ll meet up with HIGH ON FIRE for a cross Canadian trek which will culminate with the band appearing at the HEAVY MTL (http://www.heavymtl.com/en/) festival in Montreal, along with SLAYER, ALICE COOPER, MEGADETH, MASTODON and more. The band will then head out with OZZFEST where they’ll be appearing on the second stage along with former tour partners GOATWHORE and SAVIOURS and other acts including BLACK LABEL SOCIETY and KINGDOM OF SORROW. Check out their appearance on Ozzfest TV HERE. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxV6mDtmppE) Then, the Athenian madmen will head over to Europe, where they’ll be headlinging the “EUROPEAN BANGOVER” Tour.

Guitarist Scott Hedrick commented on the band’s plans; “Just when you thought Skeletonwitch couldn’t get any heavier… we’re going to eat a metric ton of bread, cheese, and beer in Europe!! Fuck yes! We’re heading across the pond w/ Warbringer and are being joined by Angelus Apatrida. It’ll be a true “European Bangover”

Of course, that is directly following the juggernaut of American heavy music festivals, Ozzfest, which we are proud to be a part of. The opportunity to play alongside greats such as Ozzy and Rob Halford is a bit of a mindfuck for us. It’s going to be a blast.

Since I seem to be working in reverse…….We’re kicking off our summer touring in July with High on Fire, Russian Circles, and Priestess in Canada. It’s going to be a lot of metal, a lot of traveling, and a lot of drinking, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Black t-shirt, white van. Heavy metal on the road.